Finally, there are some signs of life in Irish corporate finance recruitment

If you work in a corporate finance role in Ireland, you don't need us to tell you that new job opportunities have been thin on the ground in the last two years. Now, however, there appears to be a renewed appetite to hire.

According to recruitment sources, the Big Four professional services firms have been hiring for their corporate finance divisions over the last couple of months, while the stockbroking firms have also been recruiting.

"In terms of recruitment activity the corporate finance transaction sector has been dead for the best part of three years," says Robin Craig, director of recruiters Careers Compass. "But firms can see a pipeline of activity again, and this is giving them the confidence to start recruiting - largely at the junior end; roles that pay around €50k - but it's still something we haven't seen for some time."

The statistics still suggest that this has been a lean year for corporate finance activity.

Year-to-date, the value of equity capital markets deals among Irish corporates is higher than for the whole of 2010 - $1.15bn, compared to $716m, according to data from Dealogic. M&A deal value currently stands at $6.3bn (compared to $5.8bn for the full year in 2010), but both of these figures are still way off the highs seen in 2006-08. What's more, debt capital markets deals have slid from $6.5bn last year to $1.9bn so far in 2011.

Separate research from NCB stockbrokers shows that of the €4.1bn in M&A deals in Q3 this year, €2.3bn was down to the government's stake in Irish Life & Permanent.

Perhaps, as Craig suggests, it's the anticipation of more deals down the line that is spurring recruitment. Or it could be activity of another kind.

"Most consulting and stockbroking firms in Ireland are open to the idea of hiring again," says Eoin Blake, director of financial services headhunters Lincoln Search & Selection. "However, much of this is down to an an increase of demand in corporate debt solutions and restructuring work - particularly in the financial sector - rather than traditional corporate finance transactions."

Even so, if demand for front office employees picks up to any significant degree, it seems that firms will encounter a few problems finding sufficient supplies of candidates. After a two-year downturn, as we've pointed to previously, a lot of people working in these roles have pursued opportunities in other financial centres.

"Most firms want people with relationships on the ground, so they prefer to recruit from the local market," says Craig. "The result is that there's been a lot of movement between key Irish players."